Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Turn To Soviet Archives In Border Talks

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will use Soviet-era documents from archives in Russia during talks aimed at delimiting the disputed border between the Central Asian nations.

A member of Kyrgyz government's working group on border delimitation, Kurbanbai Iskandarov, told RFE/RL on January 7 that Kyrgyz officials had traveled to Moscow recently and obtained the archival materials.

Many parts of the borders between the five Central Asian countries have remained in dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Kyrgyz-Tajik talks on border delimitation have intensified in recent months after outbreaks of violence involving residents and border guards from both sides near Tajik exclaves surrounded by Kyrgyz territory.

Iskandarov said the next round of talks will start no later than January 20 in Tajikistan.